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Thursday, January 26, 2017

Random Goofy: Justice League: Flashpoint Paradox

Welcome back to Random Goofy. Man I
so needed a better title for the week. Oh well. Today we explore an
animated film. One that brings it all. Paradox, alternative
timelines, a world where heroes have gone as bad as the villains they
fight. Two metahuman armies poised at destroying one another and
damn all of humanity in the way. One man must rally support to stop
this madness before it's too late. This is Justice League:
Flashpoint Paradox.

Aunt May will be pissed if I miss breakfast...wait...what?

Based on the five part mini-series
written by Geoff Johns (Blade: The Series, Justice
League Unlimited, Green Lantern: Emerald Knights, Justice League:
War, Superman: Unbound, Arrow and The Flash) and drawn by
Adam Kubert (Action Comics, Astonishing Spider-Man &
Wolverine, X-Men, The Incredible Hulk, Wolverine and Ultimate
Fantastic Four) we see Barry Allen a.k.a. The Flash dealing
with the loss of his mother on her birthday when a JLA alert tells
him of a hit on his own museum by a slathering of his rogues. Top,
Mirror Master, Captain Cold and Captain Boomerang trashing the place.
Apparently that is their gig and a slice of revenge on the guy that
sent them up river. The fiendish foursome (Lord I have got to cut
down on the comics) attack Flash with next to no success when
Thawne a.k.a. Reverse Flash or Professor Zoom announces bombs planted
to take out 10 square blocks and all the lives along with it. Flash
however is nowhere near the idiot Zoom thinks him to be and he
already dialed in his own team of the leaguers.

Battle ready amazons??

Bombs defused and Thawne thwarted, Zoom
gets in a little snotty remark of Barry not being fast enough to save
all those that matter to him. Barry goes for a run to clear his
head only to wake up in his office of criminology and discovers
things are different. For example, no superhuman speed and his
mother is alive, The Amazons of Themyscira are at war with the
Atlantians. Yeah Aquaman, Wonder Woman and their collective armies
have destroyed chunks of Europe warring against each other. With no
speed, no Superman, JLA communications or contact with any of the
other metas or heroes is out, he knows that Batman is in Gotham so a
logical conclusion to stop by there and sort this madness out. Only
to find a completely different Batman in the cave who deals out a
much more stern form of justice. Between the two of them they
attempt to figure what happened and it all comes up Zoom. Zoom,
notorious for time travel has to have altered the timeline creating
this twisted and bizarre deviation of the world.

Gotta love the build and red lenses.

With a handful of metas, Flash and
Batman have to stop this crazy train before there is no more world to
speak of, stop Zoom and get things back to normal. Will the insanity
be stopped? How come the Green Lantern Corps isn't looking at Sector
2814? Do I know way too much about DC Comics?

Let's talk voice cast for a minute.
Kevin Conroy back for Bruce Wayne/Batman, Nathan Fillion
for Hal Jordan/Green Lantern, Vanessa Marshall reprising her
role as Diana/Wonder Woman, Dana Delany for Lois Lane, Ron
Perlman for Deathstroke, Kevin McKidd as Flashpoint Batman
but the most important roles of the two gents right at the center of
it all. Justin Chambers as the Flash and a pleasant surprise
as C. Thomas Howell as Zoom.

A view of your childhood heroes
behaving in a fashion you never thought possible, a world turn upside
down and Armageddon at their doorstep, this is intense, good writing
and a wonderful voice cast. Hell, I was blown away to here Michael
B. Jordan as Cyborg. The kid's got chops, baby. So Flash fans,
JLA fans, Super-Fans, Wonder-Fans and Bat-Fans (See that? I did a
thing there.) this is an impressive flick at a hour and fifteen
minutes that is true to its source material in the likes I haven't
seen in a while.